An early morning inferno consumed a market at Trademore Estate, along Airport Road, Abuja, on Monday, December 2.
A similar incident was recorded in Ibadan, Oyo State, where 17 shops were consumed.
While the origin of the fire at the Abuja estate remains unknown, a resident who witnessed the incident told reporters that he was alerted to the fire around 4 am.
According to him, the possibility of an electrical fault cannot be ruled out.
He added that two hours after the fire started, officers of the Federal Fire Service and their counterparts sister organisations arrived and quenched the fire.
The ICIR reports that the inferno in Ibadan consumed 17 shops at Moniya Market, Akinyele Local Government Area of the Oyo State capital.
The blaze, which began around 12:30 am, is suspected to have been triggered by a power surge.
Eyewitnesses reported that the fire resulted in substantial losses, with valuable goods and cash destroyed.
Many of those affected appealed to the government for urgent assistance to help them recover from the disaster.
Fire disaster is not new in Abuja. In December 2021, a fire gutted Next Cash and Carry, a popular shopping mall located in Jahi.
Workers and shoppers were thrown into a state of confusion as no one knew the cause of the fire, which started at about 10:00 am.
Earlier in July, another popular mall in Abuja, Ebeano Supermarket, was razed in a fire incident that destroyed goods worth billions of naira.
Also on May 10, 2023, a fire gutted a fuel station at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base along Airport Road in the FCT. Two cars were burnt in the outbreak.
Fire hazards have been a concern in Nigeria. The risks are heightened by the use of highly flammable materials in homes and the absence of fire prevention measures.
Experts believe there is a need for improved fire safety, especially in urban and informal settlements where combustible materials are widespread. The aim is to improve fire safety, especially in people’s homes.
In this report, Rhoda Afriyie Mensah, a fire protection engineer specialising in the flammability of materials, gives fire safety tips at home: the risks and how to avoid them.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance